


makeup

by TheReluctantShipper



Series: TRS' Destiel Ficlets [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Dean being a sweetheart, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Misgendering (not by the boys), Non-Binary Castiel (Supernatural), Pansexual Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 17:46:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19339465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheReluctantShipper/pseuds/TheReluctantShipper
Summary: Cas is excited about their new eye shadow palette.Then they're not.Then they are.





	makeup

**Author's Note:**

> **\- TRIGGER WARNING** in the end notes. Please scroll down to read it or proceed with caution.

As soon as Cas opens the door, Michael’s mouth twists unpleasantly.

“What is that shit on your face?”

Cas frowns. Honestly, they were  _ excited _ when the new Urban Decay Heat palette came in the mail today. It had been back ordered for weeks, and when the notification popped up on their phone, they’d done an excited (almost embarrassing) little dance on the sidewalk.

It just lined up so well when Michael had called early this afternoon, voice syrupy sweet and almost apologetic when he’d asked if Cas wanted to go out that night. It not only gave Cas a chance to use the new palette, since they’ve been wanting to do the sunset scheme one of their favorite YouTubers posted a while back, but it also gave them a chance to scope out Michael for longer-term potential.  _ Again. _

It sometimes (often) feels like Michael is only seeing Cas  _ because _ they’re non-binary, so he can spout off about how he doesn’t treat Cas any differently than any of his “other boyfriends” (if that’s true, Cas pities Michael’s boyfriends, and the fact that he even uses the word “boyfriend” is a red flag, anyway). They’ve only been out for a couple of dates, but Cas is pretty on the fence about going out for any more.

_ One more chance, _ they think to themself. Fuck, they’ve been so  _ lonely. _ It  _ is _ hard to find someone to date when one is non-binary, especially in the Midwest. They’ve considered, more than once, switching back to masculine pronouns and just burying that part of themself. Charlie always talks them out of it, but it’s been a close thing these last few months.

_ One more chance, then he’s outta here, _ they think.

“Eye shadow,” Cas says with forced brightness. “The new Urban Decay palette came, and I-”

“Makeup is false advertising,” Michael says cuttingly, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans. “It’s bad enough that women do it, it’s even worse for a man.”

Cas’ heart falls to the bottom of their chest, but they straighten up anyway and frown.  _ Strike… Well, probably strike fifty. _ “As you’re well aware, I’m not a man, Michael. And I think that this date night is cancelled.”

Michael’s face does some complicated things before it settles on regretful. “Aw, c’mon, Cassie, I-”

“I have asked you repeatedly to not call me that,” Cas snaps. “And I’m sorry, Michael. I just don’t think this is going to work out.”

Michael opens his mouth to say what Cas is sure is going to be something hurtful and misgendering, but they don’t want to hear it. They slam the door and make sure to engage the deadbolt before Michael can start banging on it. He doesn’t, but he seems like the type. Cas doesn’t relax until Michael stops shouting (they try not to parse out individual words, but the door is thin and a lot of it gets through) and they can hear the sound of Michael’s angry steps stomping down the hallway.

There are tears in Cas’ perfectly made-up eyes when they pull their cell phone out to call Charlie.

“Can you come over?”

* * *

**_Four Months Later…_ **

Cas is putting the finishing touches on the sunset eyeshadow (a perfect match with the bright orange sundress they bought last week) when their phone lights up with a FaceTime call. When they see Dean’s name on the screen, their heart gives a happy  _ thud. _

They were hesitant about seeing Dean initially. Dean is so…  _ Masculine, _ for lack of a better word. Dean drinks cheap beer, wears a leather jacket, and drives a big, gas-guzzling classic car. He cusses and smokes on occasion and there are scars on his knuckles. There’s so much that screams  _ potential red flag! _ or  _ potentially unsafe! _ from the lizard-brain in the back of Cas’ mind.

But Dean, as they found out on the first date, is a total marshmallow. He loves his little brother, he volunteers at the local animal shelter, and he works with a local LGBTQ+ domestic abuse shelter whenever he has free time. He was friends with Charlie when he and Cas met, and Cas knows that Charlie wouldn’t put up with any bullshit, either.

So they agreed to the first date. And the second. And a third.

Now they’ve been seeing each other almost every day for the last six weeks, and it has been amazing. Dean doesn’t care what Cas is wearing, whether it’s a dress or jeans and a t-shirt. Dean never asked what was in Cas’ pants, even though Cas makes a bare minimal effort at passing as one or another gender on any given day. When it came to sex, Dean was not only mind-blowingly hot, he was respectful and sweet and reverent.

Dean is damn near perfect, honestly.

Sure, he’s got kind of a temper on him that Cas has seen flashes of, and he’s got some self-esteem issues that run deep and wide, and his loyalty to Sam borders on obsession. But he’s never misgendered Cas, never made them feel like they were in danger, physical  _ or _ emotional. And when confronted with someone misgendering Cas, intentional or by mistake, or someone being a bigot, Dean tends to let Cas take the lead on how they handle it. If Cas is too tired to fight or argue or correct someone, Dean just wraps his arm around their shoulders and pulls them close into his big chest, his radiating warmth, and presses a gentle kiss to their temple.

“I gotcha, sweetheart,” he’ll say softly.

Cas answers the FaceTime call with a genuine smile. “Good morning, Dean.”

“Mornin’, Cas.” It’s obvious that Dean, too, is in the bathroom, getting ready for their day at a farmer’s market. Cas’ suggestion about how to spend their free day together was met with a sort of token resistance before Dean admitted, “I’d go anywhere with you, Cas.”

“Hey, listen,” Dean says, finally looking down from where he was wiping off remnants of shaving cream in the mirror, “I was wondering if it’s okay if we drop-”

He stops mid-sentence and just stares for a moment, and Cas’ heart falls again.  _ Dammit. _ Why does this always happen to them? As soon as they get comfortable enough with someone to relax a little and start dressing a little bit more outlandishly, a little more like themself, that person always backs off. Only Charlie and a handful of friends have made it clear that they don’t care, and while Cas cherishes them, is it so bad to want a romantic partner to  _ want _ them enough to not care that-

“Holy shit,” Dean breathes. “Cas, Jesus. You look great, sweetheart.”

Cas blinks, thoroughly derailed. “Really?”

Dean’s smile is bright and happy. “Yeah. I like the,” he waves his hand in front of his eyes, almost smacking himself in the face with the towel, “eyeshadow, right? Looks like a sunset. I like it a lot.”

Cas’ heart is no longer in their stomach, it must be in their eyes. “Oh. Um, thank you.”

Dean winks, easy and handsome and wonderful. “Anything for you, sweetheart. Anyway, I was wondering if it’s okay if we drop Sam off at the library on our way? Little nerd is studying some old guy for summer school, which makes no sense to me, who  _ studies _ for  _ summer school? _ I’m telling you, Cas, the kid is…”

**Author's Note:**

>  **\- TW:** Cas' first boyfriend in the fic misgenders them verbally and is also, in general, a giant dillweed.


End file.
